Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
Conceptual: Feedback on the message and story conveyed by the image.
Emotional: Feedback on the emotional impact and artistic value of the image.
Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
Here is another photo I made on the same hike I did a couple of weeks ago. The weather was very springlike (in the 70s F / 20s C). In this particular section of the trail, there were lower branches getting some indirect light. When I saw this trunk covered in moss and with some fungi growing on its side, I knew I wanted to capture some of the beauty my eyes were seeing. The only tricky part of that endeavor was to get under the trunk. It was high above me, but it was on the hilly side of the trail. I wanted that composition because of the backlight coming from above (I shot it shortly after 12 noon). I love moss-covered barks and fungi. This type of setting always conveys a feeling of comfort to my eyes. I experimented with various crops. The first submission was a landscape crop. Finally, in the rework, I ended up with a square crop.
Technical Details
The photo was processed mostly in Luminar Neo (my first time using that app), but I returned to LR in order to fix a few glitches, such as too much light in one section on the top of the trunk. This was shot handheld.
Oooh now you’re speaking my language! I love mushroom log photos and this is a beauty. The contrasting colors work nicely and the two together work well photographed from below. That’s going to be a mission of mine this year - polypores from below. So many have interesting gill structures - like mazes.
Anyway…here are my observations. It looks soft to me - overall. I can’t find any really crisply focused areas. I like the reflected sunlight on the fungi and the log - it’s hard to capture, but always lovely. The centered position of the two is a bit weak given their smallness in the frame so I’d either crop and keep them centered or shift them to the left. Shooting dappled sunlight is a challenge for sure and especially with the sun directly overhead. Looks like this was overexposed and blew out the highlights judging by the graying muddiness of the top of the moss where I would expect white or nearly white highlights.
I know you were handholding and bravo for seeing and getting this. You could have easily tried for a focus stack here, too, if you had a tripod and some time. The spotlighting sun from above is a real find!
Not much to add to Kristen’s critique but I love the idea and the color palette especially. I can see a tight crop if you could get to this with a macro lens but oftentimes conditions won’t allow the ideal comp. Shooting in dappled light is one of my favorite challenges and I think you managed that superbly. >=))>
Thank you both, @Kris_Smith and @Bill_Fach, for your valuable feedback. I very much appreciated that.
Kris, your enthusiasm is contagious. I, too, love mushroom log photos. Generally, I tend to find those on decaying trunks on the ground. This one was different because it was above me several feet. The location was hard to get to, but the dappled light was so captivating that I had to try to get at least one shot.
I think the muddiness you caught was due to my error in adjusting the luminance noise reduction. I went too far and lost sharpness and some of the light, too. In my second edit, I only used LR and handled RAW noise in Topaz. I like the brighter light on the moss as it is closer to what the light was in reality. This encounter was totally unexpected. Perhaps, once the weather improves, I may return to the area with a tripod and try a sharper image.
Even though I was using a macro lens, the distance to the trunk was prohibitive for a closer shot. With your and Kris’ suggestions, I will have to try to find time to go and photograph this scene better. Knowing the time I was there can help me replicate the light conditions, hopefully.
Again, thank you both for your encouragement and critique. I appreciated that.
Egidio: I like your rework. I also edited your title so that others will know you’ve posted another image. You can do this yourself and it’s a good idea to give the rest of the community a heads up. >=))>
I’ve been without power all day. We had an ice storm in Austin last night. This morning we woke up to no electricity. Tonight we are at a friend’s house (with power and comfort).
The re-work looks a sight better! More natural highlights and I think the center crop works well for these two. Sorry about the ice storm. We hardly ever lose power in winter, but in summer thunderstorms wreak havoc. The big Kohler gennie powers the whole house and goes on and off automatically. Best. Thing. Ever.
